Bob Crompton - England

Right back Bob Crompton  played 41 matches for England (1902-14) , he was captain in 22 of these games. The previous appearance record was 23 (Steve Bloomer), and Crompton's record stood from 1909-1952.

He also represented The Football League 17 times

In 1907 the imperious looking Crompton was measured at 5' 10½" and  13st. 10lbs.(1.79m, 87kg).
He was a British Home Championship winner in 1903-04, 1908-09, 1910-11 & 1912-13.

Here is a breakdown of his record:

Overall

P	W	D	L
41	27	8	6

vs. Wales

P	W	D	L
12	9	3	0

vs. Ireland

P	W	D	L
10	8	0	2

vs. Scotland

P	W	D	L
12	3	5	4

vs. Austria

P	W	D	L
3	3	0	0

vs. Hungary

P	W	D	L
3	3	0	0

vs. Bohemia

P	W	D	L
1	1	0	0

Blackburn Rovers

There's always one isn't there? In this case it appears to be Arthur Cowell, on the extreme right. I've checked other Rovers pictures from  the era and there doesn't appear to have been a tradition for one of the jerseys to have been in contrast to the others, so maybe Cowell just has his top on back to front?

The players pictured are: Miles Chadwick, Arnie Whittaker, Bob Crompton, Sammy McClure, Adam Bowman, Willie McIver, Tinker Davies, Fred Pentland, Sam Wolstenholme, Billy Bradshaw & Arthur Cowell.

I first saw this picture on https://twitter.com/footballmemorys

England 1904

The England squad in Glasgow ahead of their 1904 meeting with Scotland. The startched collars and watch chains speak of affluence. Woodward (an architect) and Harris (son of a senior Civil Servant and studying at Cambridge University) were amateurs. The remainder were the noveau riche on £4 a week.
The players pictured are, from left to right:

1	Steve Bloomer – inside right	Derby County
2	John Rutherford-outside right	Newcastle United
3	Bernard Wilkinson- centre half	Sheffield United
4	Alec Leake – left half	Aston Villa
5	Alf Common – forward (reserve)	Sheffield United
6	Fred Blackburn -outside left	Blackburn Rovers
7	Abraham Jones- centre half (reserve)	Middlesbrough
8	Tom Baddeley – goalkeeper	Wolverhampton Wanderers
9	Vivian Woodward- centre forward	Tottenham Hotspur
10	Herbert Burgess -left back	Manchester City
11	Sam Wolstenholme – right half	Everton
12	Bob Crompton – right back (captain)	Blackburn Rovers
13	Stanley Harris -inside left	Old Westminsters

England, who won that year's British Home Championship, were 1-0 winners  thanks to a 64th minute goal from Bloomer. 

A humiliation that staggered the football world: Swansea Town v Blackburn Rovers- 1915

On Saturday Swansea City travel to Blackburn Rovers in the 4th round of The FA Cup.
When the 2 met in January 1915 for a first round FA Cup tie, the outcome was one of the biggest upsets in the history of British football. 
Blackburn Rovers were a big, big club. Established 40 years previously they were founding members of The Football League. The previous season Rovers had won the Championship (their 2nd title).  They had won the FA Cup 5 times. At the time of this match (09.01.15) they were 5th in Division 1.
Their line up featured 4 England internationals ( Crompton, Bradshaw, Latheron and Hodkinson) and 1 Scottish international ( Aitkenhead).
Crompton had played for England a remarkable 41 times ( a record which stood for 38 years), captaining on 21 occasions. 
Rovers offered Swansea a large sum to switch the match to Ewood Park but the offer was declined and 16,000 people were at the Vetch to see the League champions. 
Swansea Town were in the second division of the Southern League. They had only come into existence in 1912. Their line up that day was light on stars. Club captain Thomas Hewitt had played for Wales 8 times (1911-14). Captain for cup matches that season was Joe Bulcock The man who became a hero that day was a 16 year old Rugby player. Benny Benyon was only playing 'soccer' because Rugby was suspended during the war. 
Blackburn attacked relentlessly from the outset, but in the 20th minute Swansea broke out of defence in a move, started and finished by Beynon, that covered the length of the pitch and gave the Swans an unlikely lead. 
At half time Swansea were reduced to 10 men when Lock was injured. 
Rovers bombarded the Swans goal in the 2nd half. They were awarded a penalty but remarkably Billy Bradshaw, who had scored with 36 consecutive spot kicks, shot wide. Harry Read went off injured and Swansea had to hold out for the last quarter of an hour with just 9 men. 
It was, according to  contemporary newspaper reports: A humiliation that staggered the football world.
As the photograph shows, Swansea Town were unique in having a strip in which jersey and knickers were of the same colour.
Benny Beynon returned to Rugby after the war and played for Wales, but in a ruling that highlights the stupidity of the way in which that game was administered, he was banned for professionalism on account of his Association football exploits. He went to Oldham as a Northern Union player.
Joe Bulcock (Town) and Eddie Latheron (Rovers) were both killed in the war.

Swansea Town		Blackburn Rovers
Hurst	GK	Alf Robinson
Tom Hewitt	RB	Bob Crompton
Joe Bulcock	LB	Tommy Suttie
John Duffy	RH	Bert Walmsley
Lock	CH	Percy Smith
Anderson	LH	Billy Bradshaw
Harry Read	OR	Alex McGhie
Brown	IR	Wattie Aitkenhead
Benny Beynon	CF	Johnny Orr
Gilboy	IL	Eddie Latherton
Amos Lloyd	OL	Joe Hodkinson

The Umpire- Football Competition 1904

On 13.03.04 The Umpire, a Manchester based sports paper, published the result of its Football Competition, in which readers were asked to vote for their favourite player of the season. 
The number of votes cast is impressive, and it is revealing that 2 Northern Union (Rugby League) players make it into the top 10. In this era the words football and footballer were just as likely to be used in connection with rugby players. One can assume that the readers were predominantly northern working class men. 

Of the 10 association players in the 12 named, some will need no introduction to studentds of football history. Let's see:

1	Billy Meredith	Manchester City
The Wizard of Dribble was in his 10th season with Manchester City, The following month he scored the winning goal in the FA Cup final.
2	Steve Bloomer	Derby County
One of the most prolific goalscorers in football history. He finished the 1903-04 season as the Division one top scorer for the 5th time in his career.
3	Bob Crompton	Blackburn Rovers
A full back who represented England a remarkable 41 times, captain on 21 occasions. At the time of the prize Crompton was England captain and had just won his 7th cap.
4	Ernest Needham	Sheffield United
Nudger represented England 16 times and won both the League and FA Cup with United. He was a half back who struck a balance between attacking and defensive play.
5	Tom  Baddeley	Wolverhampton Wanderers
The goalkeeper won his 5 England caps in 1903-04.
7	William Foulke	Sheffield United
The big man was always a popular figure with the public.
8	Sammy  Frost	Manchester City
Frost played half back for City.
9	Jack Sharp	Everton
Sharp was a double international (cricket and football). He signed for Everton in 1899 and was in the national team in 1904. He was an inside forward.
11	Jimmy  Settle	Everton
Notoriously fast, represented England 6 times between 1899 and 1903.
12	George  Ross	Bury
Won 2 FA Cups with Bury.

World Team of the Decade-1900s

	Player	Team	Country
GK	Leigh Richmond Roose	Stoke	Wales
It was reading about Roose's selection for the World v Another Planet in 1905 that gave me the idea for this series. A playboy maverick shamateur Roose represented 7 clubs in the Football League as well as Celtic.
RB	Bob Crompton	Blackburn	England
I'd pick Bob Crompton on looks alone- his appearance is imperious, He also clocked up a remarkable 41 international appearances and 600 plus games for Blackburn Rovers.
LB	Jimmy Watson	Sunderland	Scotland
Daddy Long Legs was a key  member of Sunderland's championship winning side of 1902.
RH	Andy "Daddler" Aitken	Newcastle United	Scotland
Aitken played over 300 League games for Newcastle United and represented Scotland 14 times.
CH	Charlie Roberts	Manchester United	England
The mobile pivot was the inspiration for Pozzo's metodo.
LH	Ernest Needham	Sheffield United	England
The industrious and cerebral half back who was a 'box to box' player.
OR	Billy Meredith	Manchester City	Wales
The original Welsh Wizard of dribble who played top class football for 30 years.
IR	Bobby Walker	Heart of Midlothian	Scotland
Considered by many contemporaries to have been the greatest player to date and a man who inspired the development of the inside forward as a midfield playmaker.
CF	Vivian Woodward	Tottenham Hotspur	England
Woodward was not all about smashing in hatfuls of goals against inept foreign teams- he scored  14 goals in 16 Home Internationals  and 103 goals in  238 League appearances.
IL	Colin Veitch	Newcastle United	England
A fascinating man who could haver been a succesful politician and was an accomplished dramatist, Veitch was a versatile player and successful club captain.
OL	Bobby Templeton	Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Woolwich Arsenal Celtic, Kilmarnock	Scotland
Templeton possessed dazzling skills and was known as the Prince of Dribblers